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The Adventure Begins OSH 2012

RDOG

Well Known Member
The North Texas boys & their RV12s head to OSH.
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Blogging while we fly.:eek:
 
OshKosh bound

See you guys Thursday, had our first flight yesterday and everything went well . Just about all the 12's have reported a heavy right wing, and of course we have to be different, we have a heavy left wing. Don Lewis
 
Welcome to the club, Don

I fly solo with a little right stick input, too. I plan to do a real close look at the flaperon attach lengths at the annual

Wayne 120241/143WM
 
Reached out first stop!

Here we are at Drake field AR.
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We picked up our #3, Steve from Paris TX. Starting from the left, Steve, Bob, John .
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Next stop LeeSumitt MO!:cool:
 
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Second leg complete!

Now at Lee Sumitt MO. Where we picked up #4, Bill. You may have seen this plane in a Dynon add.
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Off to Waffle House for a quick lunch then takeoff to Tri Township IL.
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:)
 
Now at Tri Township airport!

Next stop was Tri Township airport for some 91UL.:cool:
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In line for fuel.
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;)
 
Finally the Mother of all fly ins!

We made it!
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Let's put those puppies to sleep.:(
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Bus ride to the dorm, that would be Colin! As you can see not many people came to the show.:p
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Time to hit the hay, man I'm tired. Till tomorrow.;)
 
OSH Day 1

At the entrance.
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Future RV12 cockpit design. NOT
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Colin getting the run down on the new Rotax 912 Fuel injection. It's really cool.
Brain from LEAF giving the briefing.
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Found 2 other RV12s.
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End of day 1!

A quite ending for the day in Paul's Valley camping area with fellow RV12 pilots. Larry eat your heart out.:D
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OSH day 2!

Day 2 begins.
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This is what happens when you don't fly enough.:rolleyes:
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Fuel injected 912IS! it's really cool. Well worth the money.:cool:
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Colin checking out the RV14.
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Delta hawk diesel engine, would be great for the RV14.
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Cub central.:eek:
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OSH Day 2 ends

After a long day it's time to visit some of the local venue.
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For desert we hit the EAA sea plane base.:rolleyes:
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That's it for today, back late tomorrow.;)
 
Thanks

Thanks for the great photos and narratives. Tell my friend Steve maybe we can make a flight of five from Texas. I already warned my wife....:D

Gary Eldridge
 
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Brian at leading edge airfoils is getting quite a following on his seminars.

Can you find Waldo/Jetguy?
 
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How hot is it?

Monday we broke a record. Somewhere above 100f:mad: Tuesday was very pleasant around 85f. Today, Wedensday was round 92f. But the rest of the week is supposed to be great, mid to low 80s.;)
 
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I got a tee shirt from Stein and had it signed by the Kings, you know the ones who put out the pilot training courses. The course my daughter is using to get her private pilot ticket. I had a picture of her on the forum when she soloed on the 4th of July. She should be taking her private pilot check ride on the 31st of July or The 1st of Aug.
 
It is all that said above. I have no pics (so tune out if you wish), but had a great flight up from Ga w/co pilot Jeff Rescheule ( 701 driver who is rebuilding an RV6A). We tried leaving Sat. but weather bad so aborted. Left Sun. at 7am and had a nice ride up in N678AD stopping at GLW,DNV,DKB (free hot dogs and water at DNV). Had to use 100ll all the way as no 91 available at stops. The ride was a good one, but not as quick as the RV6A I flew up in 2007. Total time with fuel stops was 9 hrs from Atlanta area (9A1). In the heat it was a long ride. Ditto retuning on Wed. and we bucked a 35KT. headwind after departing on 18 that lasted one hour. The return took 9 hrs as well, ( I know that doesn't explain headwind, but you know some parts are quicker) but the weather gods were kind resulting in a great (but long) ride. Very happy with the 12 and it's Rotax performance. Saw most of what is shown in the earlier posts pics. The R14 is an interesting addition to Van's fleet. It's larger size and power shows that the group in Aurora is always thinking ahead. Only problem was some big guy climbing out of the 14 stepped on the no step part of wing getting off. High point of visit was meeting Steve Garret, Jetguy, and Rdog. Later John Bender walked by my RV12 and said hello. I wanted to talk with him, but was engaged in a chat with the party tented in front of me, and John gave up and left before I heard her whole story about building 9 airplanes. It was a very interesting story, and maybe we'll meet again John with more time. Also had a chance to see and say hello to Ken Scott at Van's tent. Took my trial RV ride with Ken at Hillsboro in '97. All in all Airventure is a great adventure and I recommend if you haven't done it yet do it, and you won't be sorry.
Dick Seiders 120093
 
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We had a storm go through today and blew a WWI replica onto a WWII P51 replica. The WWII plane was totaled but thr P51 lost his canopy and got some scratches. That's Steve Garrett's (parisman) airplane in the foreground.
 
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This storm had up to 60kts gust. On the left is Garrett's RV12 next is swettie and on the right is ours, N1212k. All of our planes stayed tied down but every one was straining the tied owns because the wind shifted the noses to the left about 15 degrees. I highly recommend a tail stand. The tail stands kept all of our planes from hitting their tails during this micro burst. Yyou could also tie down the nose wheel.
 
Colin, I saw a pic of Steve's RV12 on another thread (storm). I take it the 12 is ok despite dropping on the tail. Sure hope so. I didn't use a tail support, but do like the nose tie down I used on mine. Maybe need both?
Dick Seiders
 
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Does anyone remember the forums sign. Those are about 3 foot concrete cylinders that use to hold up the forum sign that looked like the one below.
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Very lucky

My plane appears to have survived the storm. I did have a tail stand, but the attachment point on the tie down ring appears to have broken when the wind gusts hit from the side. Then the tail went to the ground, but without damage. Next time I will have a nose wheel tie down and a stronger tail stand attachment. Lucky, lucky.
 
Mighty happy to hear your 12 was not damaged Steve. Glad we left out Wed. as storms Thurs were sure rough looking, and it looks like OSH is getting more (rain anyway) today. Good luck when your team flies out to TX. Enjoyed meeting and chatting with you folks.
Dick Seiders
 
Many -12s use the seat belt holding the stick full back as an elevator and flaperon lock. This places the elevator fully up. A high wind can cause the nose to lift and the tail to drop. Check the modifications sticky thread for the small piece of wood I use that lets you do the seat-belt locking with the elevator neutral. There was some evidence that a couple of 12s lifted their noses (and maybe more than just the noses) and then pivoted into the wind, held by the ropes. The nose wheels were cocked. Sweetie's nose wheel or main wheels did not move. It is a 5-minute project.
 
More OSH 2012

Another shot of the flipped biplane from the storm Wedensday.
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Red bird cub simulator.
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New McFarlane vernier throttle for the Rotax as previously shown by Dave V. You lock the push pull function by twisting the small black shaft disk. But you will still be able to rotate the big knob to increase or decrease throttle for fine adjustment. Very cool.:cool:
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Planes were really starting to fill up Philps 66 Plaza by Thusrday.
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More OSH 2012

Oshkosh would not be complete by without this couple cruising around the grounds.
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Dinner at Fratellos Thursday night. There are 6 airplane owners at this table.
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:eek:
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All good things must come to an end!

Oshkosh is over and everybody made it back home safe and sound. All the RV12s performed flawlessly. Although not the perfect platform for long cross countries (600-1500nm an up) it can be done. Dick Seiders Flew from GA, our group flew from North Texas. Vans flew theirs from OR. When flown with one pilot only it performs much better but can be flown with 2 guys to. My was at max gross every takeoff. Here are a few more pics to end out a great week.
Risky fun can be had at Oshkosh.:eek:
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Part of the Tora Tora airshow coming up.
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Oshkosh the Flight home2012!

The crowd for the nite air-show looking up & down the flight line.
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The taxi out for takeoff Sunday to head back home. We were a flight of 3. Bill our #2 headed back Friday.
Bob in front.
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And Steve bringing up the rear.
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Oshkosh 2012 comes to an end!

Bob over southern WI.
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First stop back at Tri Township for some 91octane:D
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Flying Down the Mississippi.
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Lastly here we are flying over the heartland of the greatest country on planet Earth.:rolleyes:
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Great trip! My longest yet. Although I am now talking to Abby at Flightline about some more supportive bottom seat cushions... Sweetie gave a consistent 122 kts at exactly 5gph block-to-block on these long x/c legs.
 
Close Call!

My airplane, N37JP (see it in some of the pictures above), was parked about a hundred feet from the wind-wrecked biplane! :eek: My controls were locked, the "claw" tiedowns held, and I suffered no damage. Whew! :D
 
Thanks John

Thanks for the great pictures, glad to hear everyone made it home safely. We are still doing the test cards and it made it to 10,000 feet last night with no problems. We are having a blast dialing everything in. Don Lewis
 
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